What is the "Proper" way to fold towels?

[kalliemorgan]

When dh and I were first married, we were in the world's smallest house with the world's smallest linen closet, and the only way to fit my towels in there was to fold them weird. Now (mostly my family) makes funny faces when I help them fold towels. I can't seem to break my bad habit, and now I have a larger closet that will hold non-funny shaped towels. Any rules of thumb out there? Martha would be so ashamed....

[abbeyej]

I'm sure there are several correct answers. My preferred way is to fold in 1/3s lengthwise, then in half from top to bottom. Now they can be draped over a towel bar with the end seams showing in the front (and the middle fold behind the bar), or folded in half that second time and stacked in a linen closet. (Here, I found a link that's more like mine: http://unclutterer.com/2009/07/09/how-to-fold-a-large-bath-towel/ )

 

Here's the standard alternative way (starts with the same lengthwise 1/3s) -- depending on whether you're mostly storing in a linen closet or mostly hanging over bars, this might work better for you: http://www.mrsstepford.com/keeping-house/how-to-fold-towels/

[LisaKinVA]

Well, having lived in different places, with different sized closets...standard means different things depending upon what you have.

 

My old linen closet dictated in 1/3's lengthwise, then in 1/3's the other direction. My new linen closet dictates 1/3's lengthwise, then in 1/2 the other direction and in 1/2 again. At my grandmothers, they were folded in 1/4s lengthwise and in 1/3's the other way. I fold our beach towels in 1/2, lengthwise, in 1/2 again, and then in 1/3rds.

 

My precious MIL re-folded all of our towels in my old linen closet, because I was "doing it wrong." when she couldn't fit them back into the closet...she admitted her mistake and refolded them back MY way. :lol:

 

For most linen closets, they would be folded in the 2nd manner.

[Cosmos]

I'm sure there are several correct answers. My preferred way is to fold in 1/3s lengthwise, then in half from top to bottom. Now they can be draped over a towel bar with the end seams showing in the front (and the middle fold behind the bar), or folded in half that second time and stacked in a linen closet. (Here, I found a link that's more like mine: http://unclutterer.com/2009/07/09/how-to-fold-a-large-bath-towel/

 

I used to do that, but then I realized that in our family we only hang the towels up AFTER they've been used. Since they are wet at that point, they need to be spread as wide as possible on the towel rack.

 

So the fancy thirds folding never had its intended effect. Now that I have a linen closet with wide but short shelves, I have switched to folding them half-half-half. The result is wider and flatter and of course has the edges sticking out. But it seems to work better in my closet and is slightly faster.

 

OP, if your family doesn't like how you do it, it sounds like you have the perfect assistants to hand the job over to!

[Rhonda in TX]

For me, it depends on the space I have. My kids have more room in their linen closet, so their towels are folded in half, then half again. Mine is smaller, so they are folded in half, then thirds. (Mine are never hung on rods until they are used, so I don't worry about folding them for that purpose.)

[melissel]

There's a "correct" way to fold towels? :confused: I thought the correct way was the way that got the towels folded fastest and made them fit in the closet. Martha would be horrified at me too :tongue_smilie:

[KungFuPanda]

For me, it depends on the space I have. My kids have more room in their linen closet, so their towels are folded in half, then half again. Mine is smaller, so they are folded in half, then thirds. (Mine are never hung on rods until they are used, so I don't worry about folding them for that purpose.)

 

I've used one of these two methods depending upon my closet. I didn't know until this thread that there were other choices.

[Ecclecticmum]

I have a weird way I fold towels, and I think that when they are in a pile, it looks nice, and they are compact. My MIL came in and just folded the towels into quarters, making them take up a LOT of space and placed them underneath my folded ones.....as soon as she was gone....I pulled them out and re-folded them ;) I fold them in half width-wise (so them end up long but skinny), then fold in half, then do the three-way flap (right side into middle, left side into middle)

 

Also the same thing with the washing line, I hang t-shirts from the waistband, out nice and straight, and have ways i hang the other washing. MIL comes in and puts her washing onto the line (t-shirt hung my each shoulder and "draping" in the middle, creating creases and excess drying time, as well as them not being stable enough to handle staying on the line for winds) it nearly drove my OCD into overtime LOL.

 

I made a deal with DH for putting laundry away. He puts away his & my clothes (I don't care how my clothes are, as I somehow root through them anyway) and I put away the kids clothes & linen closet stuff.

[Ellie]

For many years, I folded them in half (top to bottom), then in thirds. And I did that because a roomie wanted all the towels folded that way because they fit better in our small, shared bathroom. That was fine with me; the towels did fit better, and they looked tidy. How things look really does make a difference, because when things look tidy, we are more likely to keep things that way, IYKWIM. :-) Besides, you can actually find what you want without digging through everything, making it all worse. Ugh.

 

Now I have a larger closet, and I fold towels in thirds the long way, then in thirds again.

 

When I finish my shower at night, I hang the towel as open as possible on the towel rack. Mr. Ellie does the same when he showers early, early in the morning. When I get up, both towels are dry, and I fold them in thirds and hang them on the rack. Towels draped all which ways make me crazy, lol.

 

FTR, I can fold fitted sheets so they look just like the flat sheets. Yes, I am amazing. :lol:

[EKS]

I do thirds and thirds.

[Cera]

In half lengthwise, then in half lengthwise again, then in thirds widthwise

 

You wind up with perfect, compact rectangles

[gardenmom5]

however they fit in your closet/cabinet so you can grab one towel at a time is the correct way. some people roll them, fold them in quarters, or fold in sixths.

 

your family has problems if they are so concerned about how you fold towels. if you're trying to help them fold their towels, why don't you ask them what their preference is?

[nukeswife]

I fold in half (short sides together)and then in half again (short sides) ,then I fold the small rectangle that the other folding result in into thirds

[SKL]

I do it based on how it's going to be hung up once it's in the bathroom. And whatever is fastest. I'm all about efficiency! Mostly I don't fold towels at all, I just wash them and hang them right back up.

 

Nobody looks in our linen closet. If they do, they get what they deserve.

[tmulcahy]

I fold them in half...top to bottom. Then in half again, and then in half again. It is the fastest way I have found to get the job done. We use towels and washcloths once and then they go in the washer. I have tried to have a neat linen closet but my kids seem to like to grab things from the bottom of the stack...ugh.

 

For display and hand drying towels, I fold them in thirds.

[DarlaS]

I fold them in half lengthwise, then in thirds, then in half again. This is the only way they fit on the linen closet shelves. Having towels fall all over each other and hang off the shelves really irks me.

 

It's a total mystery how this works to the rest of my family. :tongue_smilie:

Edited April 28, 2012 by darlasowders

[OrganicAnn]

Of course Martha Stewart has covered this topic in depth. My DH and myself do it completely differently. I do the thirds and thirds. The idea is that not only does it make a smaller space, but you never see the 'edges' and so looks nicer.

[SeekingSimplicity]

I used to fold mine in half longways then short ways. After you unfold them short ways, they're ready to go on the rack.

But when we moved here and I had to put towels on a shelf where they're seen, I started folding them in half shortways, then again shortways, then into thirds so it's neat and the decorative ribbon at the bottom shows.

[Shellers]

In half lengthwise, then in half lengthwise again, then in thirds widthwise

 

You wind up with perfect, compact rectangles

 

This is how I fold my towels. I make sure the ends don't show.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I roll my towels. It really does save space for me. http://www.ehow.com/how_6114078_roll-bath-towels.html

[Chelli]

I roll my towels. It really does save space for me. http://www.ehow.com/how_6114078_roll-bath-towels.html

 

:iagree: I'm a roller too. We don't have a linen closet in any bathroom, so towels have to be stored under the sinks. Rolling them takes up less space than any other method I tried. Plus they look really cool that way as well :001_smile:

[ErinE]

I fold in thirds across the width and then fold in half twice along the length. Each bath has 2 sets of towels, one hanging and one folded. When I'm washing towels, I pull out the folded ones and can immediately hang them without folding again.